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I've had credit cards that had numbers changed due to the store-wide hacks we've all heard about. Usually, the impact is that I need to update my auto-payments to the few I have on file.

I purchased tickets to an event, months ago, for a September date, upcoming. The receipt specifically stated "this is not a ticket, you must present the credit card you used to purchase the ticket the night of the event."

Now that the account number has changed, do I present the original card, as the magnetic strip will still have the old number, or will the system 'know' the new card has replaced it? This is the first I've run into this, I usually have a printed ticket, or when a card is needed, it's a movie that I paid a few days prior to the show, no time for a number swap to occur.

Update - Entrance to the show went without a hitch. Obviously (in hindsight) the strip still contained the data to show as it was the card used to purchase he ticket. And the agent wouldn't see anything else.

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    A suggestion for the future. Assuming you have multiple cards: anything where you need to present the original card at event time or are booking something now to be billed much closer to the event is a good time to use a secondary card instead of the one that you do all your day to day purchases on.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 21:07
  • Interesting comment. I guess I might do that in the future, but this is the first time in 36 years of using credit cards this has come up. To your point, this card has been re-issued every 6-9 months due to breaches. Still. My wife charged it, and didn't get the "bring your card" notice until the end. First time we've seen that for a concert.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 21:37
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    I got singed a few years ago booking a hotel room for a major event. My card was replaced between my initial reservation and when the hotel charged a 1 night deposit (half a year later). I'd called the hotel when my new card/number were issued and had gone through the process to update my reservation; but something went wrong and I got a notice that my reservation was cancelled due to a bad card and my room was to be (was already?) given to someone on the wait list.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 22:39
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    They never admitted to a mistake or explained what went wrong; but after escalating from the front desk to corporate accounting I received a call from the hotel manager to rebook my room for the weekend. I took the latter, combined with a reputation for the event that if you messed up your reservation up you were up a creek because the hotels could easily take someone else's money, as tacit admission that it was their fault somehow. It worked out in the end; but it was a very stressful week and not something I ever want to repeat, and started thinking about options to avoid disaster again.
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 22:39
  • Note that this question is one of the answers to rhe recent question about why you should protect your credit card info.
    – keshlam
    Commented Dec 24, 2016 at 15:21

1 Answer 1

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I don't know if you purchased the tickets from Ticketmaster or from somewhere else, but Ticketmaster covers this in their "Credit Card Entry" FAQ:

What if the credit card I used expires before the event?

Just bring the old card, or the replacement card with the same account number. If you destroyed the old card and your new one has a different account number, please contact Fan Support.

It seems that at the venue they simply verify that the number on the card you bring matches the number that purchased the ticket. The card can be expired or no longer valid. If you have already destroyed the old card, you'll need to contact them; they will probably have to verify your identity and change the ticket for your new credit card number.

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    Thanks, Ben. That was it. I didn't know where the tix were purchased, just asked the missus, and it was Ticketmaster.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 13:25
  • Maybe you could print out a statement with the old number on it.
    – shoover
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 16:17
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    I still have the cards. The new ones just came in, old cards are valid another week.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 17:14
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    @shoover That probably wouldn't be ideal. The "ticket takers" swipe your credit card at the gate. If you show up with only a bank statement, they would have to type it in. If they aren't inclined to do that, you'll have to go wait in line at the ticket office and plead your case to the agent there. If you don't have the physical card with the old number, it would be much better to contact Ticketmaster and get it taken care of before the day of the event.
    – Ben Miller
    Commented May 25, 2016 at 20:56
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    As a generalized solution, check the vendor's website and/or contact the vendor. Each vendor is likely to implement their own proprietary solution, so a general technique may not work in all cases. If you can't reach the vendor, the best bet is to bring both cards.
    – TOOGAM
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 4:53

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